Nursing Care: A cinema, wine bar, concert areas and health spa with jacuzzi are among the facilities to be provided at a new nursing home complex which is due to open in ClareGalway, on the outskirts of Galway city this summer.
The owner of the development claims it will be the first nursing care centre in Europe to offer an extensive range of services under one roof that address every need of its residents including nursing, medical care, rehabilitation, holistic issues, sport and leisure.
The brainchild of city-based Dr Hussain Bhatti, The Village development will comprise a 78-bed nursing centre and is expected to provide employment for 70 people.
"The idea of The Village draws on the many positive aspects of a 'real village' where people live full, vibrant lives with the support of a community and benefit from the range of services offered in their village," according to Dr Bhatti.
"I have adapted this idea of the village for nursing care and hope The Village will make each day new and enjoyable for residents, while ensuring their wellbeing, dignity, security and peace of mind."
To encapsulate the feeling of a village, the development will include treatment rooms; special therapy rooms, beauty and massage rooms, a hair salon, shop, cinema, indoor and outdoor concert areas, roof gardens, a daycare centre, a fully-licensed wine bar and health spa with jacuzzi, a steam room and a sauna.
Dr Bhatti said the comfort and enjoyment of the residents had been taken into account in everything from the design of the building and rooms to the innovative range of available support services.
"Many of the rooms are larger than nursing home regulations require.
"The creative thinking behind The Village is reflected even in the way the single rooms open out on to the picturesque courtyard of The Village and help diminish any sense of isolation of residents," he explained.
Every room in the facility will have a computer point and a lap-top computer, as well as a telephone and television.
Leisure time will not be confined to "passive" recreation, with a number of shopping trips and cultural excursions planned for residents, as well as the development of on-site lawn bowls and croquet areas and vegetable gardens, he said.
Dr Bhatti denied that the inclusion of these "extras" would drive the price of the nursing centre out of the range of most people. There would be a range of prices to meet every budget, he stressed.
"Despite the range and variety of services and facilities available at The Village, it will not be prohibitively expensive compared to other nursing care centres and will offer a range of competitively priced rooms," he said.
Dr Bhatti hopes the range of facilities on offer will become the norm in Irish nursing home care.